BusinessResearch Methods

William G. Zikmund

Chapter 15: Questionnaire Design

“It is not every question that deserves an answer.”

Publius Syrus(roman,1st century B.C.)

A QUESTIONNAIRE IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE QUESTIONS

IT ASKS

A Good Questionnaire Appears

• As easy to compose as a good poem• But, it is usually the result of long,

painstaking work

The Major Decisions in Questionnaire Design

1. What should be asked?2. How should each question be phrased?3. In what sequence should the questions be

arranged?4. What questionnaire layout will best serve

the research objectives?5. How should the questionnaire be pretested?

Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

What Should Be Asked?

• Questionnaire relevance• Questionnaire accuracy

Phrasing Questions

• Open-ended questions• Fixed-alternative questions

Structured Unstructured

Undisguised

Disguised

Example:

Typical descriptive surveywith straight-forward, structured questions

Example:

Survey with open-endedquestions to discover “new”answers or focus group interview

Example:

Survey interview to measurebrand A’s image versuscompetitive brands’ images or brand recall (unaided recall)

Example:

Projection techniques usedmostly for exploratory research

Classifying Surveys by Degree of Structure and Degree of Disguise

Developing a Questionnaire

• No hard and fast rules• Only guidelines

• Avoid Complexity: use simple, conversational language

• Avoid leading and loaded questions

• Avoid ambiguity: be as specific as possible

• Avoid double-barreled items

• Avoid making assumptions

• Avoid burdensome questions

1. Do you believe that private citizens have the right toown firearms to defend themselves, their families, and property from violent criminal attack?

Yes No Undecided

2. Do you believe that a ban on the private ownershipof firearms would be significantly reduce the number ofmurders and robberies in your community?

Yes No Undecided

1a. How many years have you been playing tennis on a regular basis? Number of years: __________

b. What is your level of play?

Novice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 Advanced . . . . . . . -4Lower Intermediate . . . . . -2 Expert . . . . . . . . . -5Upper Intermediate . . . . . -3 Teaching Pro . . . . -6

c. In the last 12 months, has your level of play improved, remained the same or decreased?

Improved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 Decreased. . . . . . . -3Remained the same . . . . . -2

2a. Do you belong to a club with tennis facilities? Yes . . . . . . . -1No . . . . . . . -2

b. How many people in your household - including yourself - play tennis?Number who play tennis ___________

3a. Why do you play tennis? (Please “X” all that apply.)

To have fun . . . . . . . . . . -1To stay fit. . . . . . . . . . . . -2To be with friends. . . . . . -3To improve my game . . . -4To compete. . . . . . . . . . . -5To win. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -6

b. In the past 12 months, have you purchased any tennis instructional books or video tapes? Yes . . . . . . . -1

No . . . . . . . -2

Dear Passenger:

American Airlines is pleased to have you on board today.

To help us provide the best service possible, we need to know more about you and your opinions of our service. If you are over 11 years old, we would appreciate it if you would complete this questionnaire.

Your flight attendant will pick up your completed questionnaire shortly.

Thank you.

1. Please indicate: Flight number ___________ Date_____________

2a. At the city where you boarded this particular plane, did you make a connection from another flight?

Yes, from American . . . . 1Yes, from Other Airline . . 2No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

b. Did you board this plane at the airport from which it just took off, or were you a through passenger for which that was an intermediate stop?

Boarded here . . . . . . . . . . 1Through passenger. . . . . . 2

3. How would you rate the overall service from American for this flight, all things considered, from your arrival at the airport terminal until now?

Excellent Good Fair PoorOverall Service . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4

4. Please rate each of the following with regard to this flight, if applicable.

Excellent Good Fair Poor 1 2 3 4

Courtesy and Treatment from the: Skycap at airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Airport Ticket Counter Agent . . . . . Boarding Point (Gate) Agent . . . . . Flight Attendants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Your Meal or Snack. . . . . . . . . . . . .Beverage Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Seat Comfort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carry-On Stowage Space. . . . . . . .Cabin Cleanliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Video/Stereo Entertainment . . . . . .On-Time Departure . . . . . . . . . . . .

Questionnaire Design

• Question sequence– Order bias– Funnel technique– Filter bias

• Question layout

Pretesting is Important

Layout for Internet Questionnaires

• Graphical User Interface (GUI)• Paging layout going from screen to screen • Scrolling layout gives the respondent the

ability to scroll down • Push buttons • Status bar

4 Common Question Displays on a Computer Screen

• Radio button • Drop-down box• Check box • Open-ended boxes

Software that Makes Questionnaires Interactive

• Boolean skip and branching logic – hidden skip logic

• Variable piping software • Error trapping - forced answering software • Interactive help desks

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